A Darker Purpose
by sugarmouse-90
Summary: Somethings going on within the walls of the Watchers' council HQ that could threaten the fate of the world...will the scoobies be able to stop it?............... it's not as cheesy as it sounds, believe me!
1. Chapter 1

LONDON, ENGLAND

Charlotte Hadley ran through the grand hallways of the Watchers' Council HQ. She knew her life probably depended on how fast she ran right now.

For 5 years Charlotte had worked for the council as a watcher but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw in that room. She knew she had to get out now, before it was too late. She needed to warn the world.

Her feet were hurting now and she could feel blisters forming where her high heel shoes were rubbing. They definitely weren't made for 'running for your life.' Stopping for a second, in an indent in the stone wall, she removed her shoes and then carried on running. She didn't even bother to take her shoes with her. She didn't care.

Charlotte ran into the main hall. There were a few more watchers here and she felt safer knowing there were people around her…or perhaps they knew already. Perhaps they knew what Quentin Travers was.

Charlotte could see the main door in front of her now, the way out. If she could just get to the door and get out she would probably be safe.

Several watchers were giving Charlotte strange looks as she barged passed them, but Charlotte didn't care. She wasn't going to be coming into the HQ again any time soon after what she had discovered, so she possibly wouldn't have to seen any of these people ever again. She heard some of their concerns as she passed by.

"Are you ok miss?"

"Your shoes miss! Would you like me to fetch you a pair? You seem to be running round barefoot!"

Charlotte didn't respond to any of them. All she concentrated on was the big door in front of her, which was getting closer and closer. Maybe she could make it out of the building alive.

Out of breath and panting, Charlotte used her remaining strength to push open the grand door that was the entrance to the Council HQ. She stepped outside and felt the April sunshine fall onto her face, she'd made it out alive. Now all she had to do was warn the world about what was coming.

At the same time, unbeknown to Charlotte, a man dressed in jet-black clothing was perched upon the roof of the HQ. The sniper loaded his gun, aimed at his target and pulled the trigger.

Nobody ever heard from 26 year old Charlotte Hadley again…

Meanwhile, over 5000 miles away in Sunnydale, California, Buffy Summers the vampire slayer and her friend Willow Rosenburg were walking through one of the twelve cemeteries in Sunnydale.

"Vampires?" Buffy called out. "Here vampires!" Much to Buffy's disappointment the cemetery was silent and she sat down on the stone bench. Willow joined her.

Buffy gave out a deep sigh. "I don't know why I even bother to patrol these days. There's no vampires anywhere! And even of one does decide to show his ugly toothy face, the initiative have already got it before I can raise my stake!"

"But that's not necessarily a bad thing," started Willow.

Buffy looked up confused.

"What I mean is," Willow continued, "that with the initiative taking care of most the vampires and other ugly demony things, you could have time to do other things in the evenings, like spend time with your friends or your mom…or with Riley."

Buffy smiled and got to her feet. "You're right Will, as always. Come on, I'm going to call it a night with the patrolling."

"Great!" replied Willow as Buffy pulled her up off the bench. "Hey! You could call Riley. The Night is still young!" Willow started giggling, as did Buffy.

"Actually he said he was busy. He has work to do or something…So I was thinking, me, you, Xander, movie date in his basement. Come on, we'll go to the video store now." Buffy started to march away but stopped when she noticed her friend wasn't following.

"A-Actually Buffy…I kinda said I'd meet Tara."

"Oh," Buffy replied.

"I'm sorry Buffy…Are you mad?"

"What?…No. Of course not. How could I be mad with you Will…It's just that…well you seem to be spending a lot of time with Tara lately."

"Oh Buffy, I'm sorry. It's just that I promised her yesterday that I'd meet her." There was a silence. "Hey! What about tomorrow? We'll do it tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah sure, That'll be cool. I suppose me and Xander will just be hanging by ourselves tonight." She started to walk off again.

"Um...Buffy?"

Buffy stopped.

"Anya's with Xander tonight."

"Oh right…that's cool…I'll just hang with myself then...You know just me and myself…so um bye then." And with that Buffy set off back to the university.

Willow watched her go and couldn't help feeling that Buffy's feelings were hurt a little. She'd make it up to her tomorrow. She turned round to head for Tara's but was stopped when something grabbed her round the throat. She screamed.

Hearing Willow's scream, Buffy spun round and watched as a demon held Willow up by her neck. The demon was unfamiliar to Buffy but it had a striking symbol on his forehead. The symbol reminded Buffy of a crown except that it had another point underneath, but Buffy didn't have time to think about it now. Her friend was in danger.

"Oi, get off her!" shouted Buffy as her punched the demon forcefully on the shoulder forcing it to drop Willow, who collapsed onto the ground. The demon now turned his attentions towards Buffy.

"That's right!" Buffy called out. "Come to Buffy!"

Buffy stuck her arm out to punch it but the demon grabbed her arm before the punch could land. Buffy gasped. She hadn't counted on the demon being so strong and she screamed as it broke her arm.

Cradling her arm, Buffy tried to move away but was promptly pushed to the ground. The demon was standing over her now. With her good arm Buffy reached for the knife in her trouser pocket and held it in front of her body, sharp end facing the demon. Then, with her legs she managed to cause the demon to fall on top of her, but he didn't fall onto the knife.

The demon took the knife from Buffy's hands and turned it towards Buffy who was desperately trying to hold the knife away from her body.

The demon was strong though and Buffy didn't know how much longer she could hold the knife off her. It was getting closer and closer to her chest…

To be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy looked over to Willow in desperation as the knife neared her body, but Willow wasn't doing much better. The demon had caused her to pass out when he had grabbed her by the throat. The only thing that could save Buffy now was a miracle.

Suddenly Buffy heard a voice from above her.

"Oh look! A Demon!" the voice shouted. "Finally, something I can kill!"

The demon was then forcibly pushed from Buffy's body and after a series of strong punches, kicks and blows, Buffy heard the sound of a sword enter the demon's body and then she felt it slump to the ground next to her. She got up off the ground to meet her rescuer.

The rescuer, meanwhile, was looking down upon his work, while clutching his side, where the demon had hit him hard.

"Bloody hell!" he said. "I've kicked some demon butt in my time, but he was bloody strong!"

"Spike," Buffy spoke aloud, then paused. For the first time in her life she had been pleased to see the pitiful vampire. "Spike," she continued, "I never thought I'd say these words, but thanks, you just saved my life."

"Oh it was noth…" Spike stopped. What was he doing? He'd just saved the vampire slayer's life, and he was a vampire! He was the notorious Spike who everyone had feared for over a century, not Spike the hero!

_Oh God, _he thought, _I'm turning into Angel!_

Spike shuddered at the thought. He had to think of a good comeback. What would the notorious Spike say?

"W-What I mean is…huh, I had no idea you were under the demon. Had I known he was about to kill you, I would have let him finish the job…cause I'm evil."

_There_, he thought, _that showed her._

Buffy tried to disguise her smirk and went to Willow who was regaining consciousness "Do you know what demon it was?" Buffy asked Spike as she helped Willow to her feet.

"No," Spike replied, "never seen it before it my…" he paused again and frowned, "…and even if I did know what it was I wouldn't tell you…I'm the Villain remember." 

"Right you are," replied Buffy and turned to Willow. "Come on, let's get to Giles. See if he can tell us more. Are you coming with us Spike?"

"No bloody way!" he shouted. "You go have a cuppa tea with Mary Poppins. I'm going back to my crypt." With that Spike marched off, tripping up over a gravestone on the way.

Willow and Buffy set off for Giles' apartment.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'!"

They were in Giles' apartment now. Buffy and Willow sat on his couch. Opened books were spread about on the coffee table and Giles paced back and forth in the front. Buffy was frustrated with the lack of information coming out of Giles' mouth.

" I mean 'I don't know'," replied Giles. "What else can that phrase possibly mean?"

"Oh," replied Buffy. Giles always seemed to outsmart her one way or the other. "But you always know these things…cause your smart…and you read a scary amount of books."

"Buffy I've looked in the books, but to be frank I don't have a clue what I'm looking for. All you've told me is that it's strong and has hairy feet."

"Well it was strong," answered Buffy defensively, "and it did have very hairy feet."

Willow suddenly remembered something. "What about the symbol?"

"Symbol?" repeated Giles

"It looked like a crown," added Buffy, "except that it had another point underneath."

Giles' eyes widened. He said nothing and sat down in his armchair. His eyes were full of worry.

Buffy noticed her watchers change in mood. "Giles, what is it?...Do you know the symbol?"

"Only from stories," Giles replied. "They're some kind of servants…to keep people in line."

"To keep people in line?" asked Willow. "To keep people in line for what?"

"I don't know," replied Giles. His voice was distant and his expression was grim. "But…" his voice trailed off and he got to his feet, making his way towards the bookshelf.

Suddenly the door burst open. Xander entered, closely followed by Anya. His head was bleeding and he was panting, like he was running from something. Anya appeared to be unhurt.

"Xander! Oh my God! What happened! Are you alright!" Willow got to her feet and inspected Xander's head wound.

"We were attacked…by this demon…in the cemetery…it had hairy feet."

"Join the club," said Buffy as she shifted up on the couch to make from for Willow, Xander and Anya to sit down beside her. "What were you doing in the cemetery anyway?"

Xander was a bit stuck for words. "Oh…er…um…you know, we just fancied a _stroll_, didn't we ahn?"

"What!" replied Anya. "No we weren't…why do you keep winking at me like that?.. You said it'd be sexy if we made out in a crypt… but I never got to find out because that big hairy footed demon whacked you on the head…and you screamed like a sissy girl and ran away, dragging me with you…and it really wasn't very sexy Xander."

Xander was now bright red as Willow and Buffy laughed at him, but they were interrupted as Giles handed Buffy an open book.

"Here," he said as he handed her the book. "This is the codex."

Buffy felt the heavy, leather bond book in her hands. She was familiar with the Codex. They had prophesied he death before, and she had died. If there was one thing she didn't doubt, it was the reliability of the codex.

She scanned the page and found the symbol she had seen on the demon's forehead earlier. Next to it was a single sentence. Buffy read it aloud.

"_The ruler will summon his servants and the world will fall dark_."

All five of them were silent for a moment. Xander was the first to speak. "Gee, that sounds jolly doesn't it."

"Xander, do shut up! This is not the time for jokes," sniped Giles. Buffy hadn't heard Giles so serious for a long time.

"Giles," she said softly, "what does this mean?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I'm calling the council." He took his phone and went in to the other room."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Anya after he had left. "He needs some sex. Sex makes people happy."

"Anya…" moaned Xander.

"But you said…"

"Anya not now ok."

Ignoring Anya and Xander's bickering, Willow turned to Buffy who was still engrossed in the book. "Do you think it's serious?"

Buffy turned away from the book. "I don't know Will, but I haven't seen Giles like this for a long time. Willow…what if I can't fight it?"

"You will," Willow tried to reassure her friend. "I know you will."

Some time later Giles emerged. His mood hadn't improved. "The council won't take any of my calls. Idiots! I'm going to have to go there myself. Even if the council refuses to help they have the books that we need, if we want to find out anymore information about this 'ruler'. I'll see if I can get a flight to England tomorrow."

Buffy look up at him sadly.

"I'll try not to be gone for long," he added, "so that…"

"Giles," Buffy interrupted, "this 'ruler' or whoever he is…I'll be able to fight him right?"

Giles avoided his slayer's eyes. "I don't know."

To be continued...

AN: please review! Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy walked through the deserted Sunnydale cemetery, knife in hand, stake in her back pocket. She wasn't planning on staking any vampires tonight, but for some reason she felt more secure if it was there.

Giles had left for England earlier in the day. He'd told her to patrol, but with a certain, delightful companion.

"So, why am I doing this again?" asked the British vampire walking beside her, whilst swinging his large steel axe about carelessly in the cool night air. "Cause I had things I wanted to do tonight," he continued. "I've missed 'Passions' for this! Now I'll never get to find out if Timmy ever did get out of that bloody well."

Buffy halted and turned to face Spike. "Look, I'm not singing and dancing about this either, but until Giles figures out who this so called 'ruler' is and how to stop him, we've got to stop these demons…or servants…or whatever Giles called them from attacking normal, everyday people. I don't think I take them by myself, so I need you for backup." She paused for a moment and frowned. "And stop swinging that stupid axe around will you! You're going to end up cutting off my arm the way you're swinging it!"

"Wouldn't be such a bad thing," muttered Spike under his breath, but nevertheless, the axe dropped to his side.

They walked side by side for a moment in silence, in which time, Spike did some thinking. Why was he doing this? He hated Buffy… didn't he? He wanted her dead. But yet here he was about to fight on the same side as her, as allies. No, this was wrong. It was against everything he stood for, he'd have to turn back…But yet his feet carried on, walking next to her, side by side. For some reason he felt inclined to protect her, however much he told himself he hated her. What was happening to him?

Spikes thoughts were interrupted when Buffy spotted something infront of them. "Look," she whispered and pointed ahead. Sure enough, three of the ruler's servants stood not more than a few meters away from where Buffy and Spike were standing. Luckily, they were facing in the opposite direction. Buffy grabbed Spike's arm and moved quietly and quickly behind the nearest tree.

"Spike, I don't know if we'll be able to take three by ourselves. They 're really strong."

Spike let out a smirk. "Awww," he mocked, "you afraid of the demon?…Course we can take' em. I'm here remember."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on!" he continued. "They're just waiting for someone to kick they're butt…mind you, if you're chicken?"

"No. Spike! Wait! We have to think of a plan! Come back!" but it was too late. Spike had already run out from behind the tree and was racing towards the demons. Buffy stood still for a moment, considered her options, then ran after him.

Spike was first to reach the demons. "Hey! Gorilla feet!" he called out, which immediately drew their attention. "That's right," he continued as the demons approached him, "I'm talking to you, you hairy footed morons"

Spike ducked a punch from the closest demon to him and at the same time butted it in the stomach with the axe handle. The demon flinched, but quickly through out another punch, which Spike didn't manage to avoid and it landed forcefully in his side. He gasped in pain. He'd forgotten how strong the demon was from his encounter the previous night. Thinking quickly, he took his axe and separated the demon's head from its neck in a single stroke.

He gave out a proud smile for a moment. "One down two to…" he was cut short as one of his two left to go hit him hard in the face.

"Bugger," he moaned, as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Buffy watched from behind.

_And he killed two slayers how?_, she thought. But she had little time to think any further as the remaining demons had now turned their attentions towards the lone slayer.

Buffy gulped. Could she take two by herself? She didn't know, but there was only one way to find out. She lunged forward with her knife… but found herself knocked to the ground before the knife reached the demon's body. But it wasn't the demon that knocked her down.

Buffy sat up on the damp ground. Ten, maybe twelve men were attacking the two remaining demons, their faces covered with black balaclavas. Buffy knew who the men were though. They were the initiative soldiers.

Buffy watched as they eventually managed to bring the demons to the ground.

"Take them back to the lab," she heard one of them say. Buffy guessed he was the leader.

"Anyone injured?" said another one.

Buffy heard a few groans coming from a few of the soldiers, who may have had broken bones after being unlucky enough to receive a blow from the demon, but as far as she could see none of them appeared to be badly hurt.

Buffy looked over at Spike, as she knew the initiative were after him, but fortunately his body was well out of sight behind a large gravestone. She now turned her attentions back to the initiative, where the men were still talking.

"What about the civilian?"

"I saw her holding something sir, I'm pretty sure it was a knife."

"Is she injured?"

A soldier approached Buffy, offering his hand. "You alright miss? Are you hurt?"

Buffy looked up, into the face of the soldier, and gasped. The soldier's eyes also widened.

His balaclava had been knocked off somehow, and his true face was revealed, a face that Buffy recognised well. She looked deeper into his widened eyes. No, it couldn't be, she thought. How could it be? She would have known…wouldn't she? But somehow it all made sense.

"Riley?" she whispered.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Giles had almost forgotten the difference in climates between California and England. The evening air was far cooler than he had expected and he wished now that he had decided to bring that warmer jacket after all. It had been so long since he had last been to England, roughly four years. It was strange now that his own country felt so alien to him, and California felt more like his home.

The flight to London had been a long one. He was tired and weary, but refused to let himself rest. Not until he got some information about Sunnydale's latest arrivals.

He walked along the London pavement for a while but soon Giles felt droplets of water land upon his head and face. He frowned and looked up at the sky, which was grey, dull and set for rain.

"Bloody typical," he muttered to himself, and he called for a taxi.

Half an hour later the taxi pulled up outside the Watchers' Council HQ. It was a very large, grand building, where Giles had worked for many years prior to his assignment of Buffy. The building had almost become like a home to him then, but for some reason as he stood awkwardly outside it now, it gave him an eerie feeling.

After thanking and paying the cab driver, with the little English money that he had, he walked up to the HQ and entered through the main door.

The main door seemed somewhat larger than Giles had remembered it being. The decoration hadn't changed, but had been so long that Giles had been in such a dignified place. Several watchers were dotted round the main hall, all of them gazing upon the new arrival in the building. Some frowned, some smiled, but Giles figured that the ones who were smiling at him probably didn't know who he was, or hadn't heard of his dismissal.

He made his way to the impressive main desk where a middle-aged woman was ordering some documents into neat piles on the wooden surface. She stopped what she was doing as she noticed Giles' approach.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked, then paused as recognition spread across her face. "Say, aren't you…"

"Yes," replied Giles, "it's me."

"What are you doing here! You were fired!"

"Listen," continued Giles, ignoring the woman's questions, "I need a favour. I need to see Quentin Travers. It's urgent."

"You know I can't," she replied. "You're not a watcher anymore."

Giles leant in towards her and spoke in a hushed tone. "Sophie, something's coming, something big. I need to see him. Please."

She sighed. "Very well, go ahead… but I'm putting my job on the line here Rupert."

"And it's appreciated answered Giles, who was already making his way to the left staircase.

Sophie returned to the many documents that lay in front of her and let out another deep sigh. _Well_, she thought, _I can say goodbye to that promotion_

Giles stood before the door that led into Quentin Travers' office. Until recently he had always respected the head watcher, he hadn't necessarily liked him as a person and he had thought his methods ridiculous on occasions, but he had always respected him. When he had worked inside the council HQ, it has always been an honour for him whenever he was called to enter the older man's office.

He remembered the last time he had been invited in. It was when he was assigned to Buffy. He'd never felt so proud before, to be picked out of many was a great honour. Finally he could put all those years of training into practise, however, soon after meeting Buffy he had discovered that it was a lot harder than it looked.

He'd always imagined the slayer as an incredibly serious girl, dedicated to training and her studies and would always obey her watcher commands. Buffy was most definitely not serious, she'd rarely study or obey him, and made fun of his training methods but was definitely dedicated and stood up for what she believed in, and Giles admired her for it. Soon after his arrival in Sunnydale, Giles had discovered that the slayer was a person too. And he'd come to love that person as a daughter, which had cost his position as Buffy's watcher.

Quentin Travers had put Buffy through that ludicrous test, and now all he felt for the man who he used to respect as his superior was searing hate. He put forth his hand and knocked three times on the dark wood.

Giles stood outside for a moment and listened to the sounds of rustling paper and cabinets being shut from inside the office. The finally a voice spoke out. "Come in."

Taking a deep breath, Giles did as he was commanded. The door opened with a creek and he stepped inside the rather luxurious office. Behind the desk sat an ageing man. It had been less than a year since Giles had last seen the old man but during the time he seemed to have aged considerably.

Quentin looked his unforeseen guessed up and down, and after a moment's silence he was first to speak. "Well, I must say Mr Giles, this is rather… unexpected." The last time they had spoken Giles had made it quite clear he didn't want to see him again.

"Indeed," answered Giles, "but I come here at great urgency… of course normally I would have phoned but the council do seem rather reluctant calls from a man such as myself."

"Rupert, you know the council…."

"Let us speak of it no further," interrupted Giles. "I'm not technically a watcher anymore, I know that, but still, I have reason to believe a new evil has arisen. One that we may need the council's resources to fight"

Quentin's brow furrowed. "And what has led you to this conclusion?"

"Are you familiar with the prophecy: 'the ruler will summon his servants and the word will fall dark'."

Quentin gave a tired sigh in response. "Of course I am, as are many others… we are all familiar with this myth."

Giles frowned and his voice. "Myth! Myth! It's written in the Codex, which you have studied… and recently I have reason to believe it's coming true. Buffy's seen the ruler's servants!"

"You have too much faith in the slayer Rupert, this is what I was talking about when we last met. Your affection for her clouds your judgement. What she saw probably weren't even the real servants, if there are such things. I'm sure this will come to nothing. In the meantime I suggest you return to Sunnydale and tell that slayer, whom you are so reluctant to leave, to focus her time on more important issues."

Giles was angry, but also confused. Quentin Travers was head watcher. How could he turn a blind eye to a prophecy in the Codex? It was a disgrace! Without a moments hesitation he stormed towards the door. "You don't give us orders," he snapped at Quentin, and then he slammed the door behind him.

A Dark featured man stepped out from behind the large cabinet Quentin had shut earlier. "You want me to…"

"No," Quentin interrupted, "he knows nothing."

Giles made his way quickly to the council library, full of rage and hate for Quentin. He was going to get more information on this prophecy. Quentin wouldn't be able to stop him…unless he was caught sneaking into the council library.

Checking the coast was clear at every corner, he made his way towards the narrow corridors that led to the library.

He only had a few more bends to go, when he heard footsteps from around the corner. Hurriedly looking around him he found an indent in the wall. The indent was small, but big enough for Giles to fit his whole body into.

The footsteps passed and didn't pause. Giles leant back on the wall in relief…but relief soon turned to shock as he felt his body fall back further than he anticipated and he fell though. As he lay on his back he came to he realisation that the wall, wasn't a wall at all… it was a door.

Giles picked up his glasses from the cold stone floor and slid them back onto his face but the glasses made no difference, as the room was dark. The door had shut after he had fallen through.

After he had got to his feet his hand began to scan the wall for a light switch, figuring he could probably make more sense of his situation of he was able to see. Soon enough he found one and he gave it a hefty pull.

Giles blinked, then blinked again. Slowly the room began to fall into focus around him, every last detail of the room could now be seen. Every dark secret that hid was now revealed.

He scanned through the various documents, files and books that lay in shelves and on tables. He'd stumbled on something big…and he maybe wished he hadn't. He dropped the book he was holding back onto the table and backed up against the blank wall. He removed his glasses. So this was the Travers' big secret.

"Dear Lord."

To be continued...

AN: Review please! tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Buffy sat on the end of Willow's bed in her dormitory. Opposite her, on her bed, sat her boyfriend Riley. The beams moonlight shone through the window and lit up his face, which was trying to avoid hers. They both sat in silence.

She didn't know how she felt. Bewildered? Confused? Could she ever find a remotely normal boyfriend? The silence was becoming increasingly uncmftable to her now. With a sigh, she broke it.

"So this is what you mean when you say you're working late, huh," she stated simply. "Cause normally that means a few extra hours at the office, not hunting demons for some secret organisation thingy."

Riley turned to face her for the first time since pulling her from the ground earlier. His face riddled with guilt. "Buffy I…"

"Don't," she interrupted. She didn't want lies or excuses; she'd had enough of them in her time. She wanted the truth. "Riley, who are you?"

He paused for a moment then spoke. "Buffy you know who I am. I'm Riley. The rest…what I do…I can't tell you."

"Then let me," She snapped back. "You're part of some military monster squad that captures demons, vampires…but you probably have some official sounding euphemisms for them. Like unfriendlies…or non-sapiens."

"Hostile sub Terrestrials," corrected Riley.

"Whatever," continued Buffy. "So, you deliver these HST's to a bunch of lab coats who perform experiments on them…and on occasions turn them into harmless little bunnies. How am I doing so far?" Rage had got the better of her and now she found herself standing.

"A little to well," he replied, taken aback by Buffy's knowledge.

"Meanwhile, you pretend to be Riley Finn, the darn attractive teaching assistant." She paused. "God, is Riley even your real name?"

"Stop it!" Riley shouted. Buffy obeyed. "My name is Riley. Never been anything different. And Newsflash, I don't think I'm think I'm the only one that's being a little less than honest here…Buffy, how do you know all this?…about demons, my organisation, everything? You were at the cemetery with a knife, and I'm pretty sure you weren't planning to cut cheese out there…I think the question here is who are you."

Buffy sat back down on the bed. He was right. Here she was going on at him for keeping secrets, when she had a huge one of her very own. She was suddenly feeling very guilty. She'd have to tell him the truth. How could she explain her self otherwise? She made her decision.

"Riley," she began, "you ever heard of a vampire slayer?"

He stared blankly.

Boy, this was gonna take some explaining.

LONDON, ENGLAND

Giles straightened up and readjusted his glaces onto his face. He needed to pull himself together. He needed to think, which was proving increasing difficult. All sorts of questions riddled his mind: _Is it true?_ _Could it really be him? Who else knows? _And most importantly, _What do I do now? _Searching his brain thoroughly for an answer to the final question, he found one.

Moving slowly, he again approached the table where the books and documents lay. He knew he'd never get a chance to read it all in there. But then again, he'd never make it out of the building with about fifty books unseen. But maybe he could make it out with one of them. Taking the book he felt would contain the most useful information, he slipped it under his jacket, made for the door and exited the secretive room.

Luckily the coast was clear. Although the book was tucked away safely under his jacket, it was quite thick. He wondered what passers by would think of the strange bulge underneath his jacket. He was also glad the coast was clear because despite the limited modern technology inside the council, Giles had no doubt that the room he had just stumbled into was being watched. Quentin Travers would not what something like that being broadcast to the world. He'd probably pay any price to stop it getting out. Giles swallowed hard. He needed to get out of the building alive. He knew a door that could maybe give him safe passage out. It was a risk, but he was certain there was no other way.

Moving quietly through the deserted hallways round the back of the Watchers' council, he made his way to the kitchens. He knew that there was a back entrance to the kitchens, where the kitchen staff took food deliveries. The council didn't believe in modern technology, and Giles was certain that one of the few security cameras that the council owned would not be placed on the back entrance to the kitchen.

Checking the coast was clear again before proceeding, he made his way through the empty council kitchen. Tea was always served too early for Giles' liking inside the council, but right now Giles was thankful for it.

Eventually he reached the back of the kitchen. Opening the rusty, metal door, he stepped out into the night. He hoped the darkness would hide his presence. He didn't stop walking though, there was something he needed to do. If he didn't make it back to Buffy with the information alive, he needed to make sure she could get it somehow.

About a mile away from the Watcher's council HQ, a man sat cross-legged on his faded couch. Perched on his lap was a copy of '_The Times_'. He gave a sigh and put down the blue biro he was holding. Today's crossword was proving tricky. Why hadn't he bought '_The Sun_', page 3 was far more his cup of tea.

Turning his head from the paper, he looked around him. It was a pathetic excuse for a home. Bed sheets were riddled with numerous cigarette holes, the walls were cracked and the bathroom, which had surprisingly once been white, was covered in mould, but unfortunately it was all he could afford.

Money hadn't been a problem for him till roughly two years ago. He'd once owned a shop. That had been fun. _Well, maybe not for the customers_, he chuckled to himself. The shop hadn't lasted long though and soon he was forced to leave. The year following that had been one of the worst of his life. Money was nowhere. He'd even spent some time on the street, but then one day someone came along and made him an offer he couldn't refuse. The man who made the offer (if you could call him a man) had heard of his knowledge of dark magic. In return for a small favour, the man would pay him a great sum of money… but somehow that had gone pear-shaped too. So here he was now, sitting on the battered couch of a room in the filthiest B&B in London. He figured he wasn't the luckiest man alive, but there again, he was no saint.

His thoughts were interrupted by a load knock on the outside of his rotting door. _Visitors?_ he thought. _No one knows I'm here._ Never the less, he uncrossed his legs and went to open the door.

What great him was most unexpected

"Ripper?"

To be continued...

AN: a few bits of the Riley/Buffy diologe at the beginning are taken from the Riley/Buffy diologe at the beginning of doomed. Lots of it is mine...but don't give me all the credit!

p.s review please! You'll make my day!


	6. Chapter 6

Giles stood outside Ethan's door. "I believe they call me Giles now," he answered calmly.

"Look," Ethan replied, inching away from the door, "about the candy. They forced me… e-even threatened to kill me… a-and how was I to know that you of all people would get hold of it… I mean, w-would I ever try to hurt _you _Ripper?"

"Relax," sighed Giles. "If I was here to kill you I would have done so already."

Ethan gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank-God… But why _are_ you here then? Because I'm guessing you didn't come all the way to London to catch up on old times."

"Can I come in?"

Ethan hesitated for a moment, the stood aside to let Giles pass. As he did, he couldn't help but notice how distant his former friend looked. It was like his body was in his shabby B&B but his soul was lost in another dimension. Something was troubling him. "So then, what brings you to London?"

"Business," he replied plainly as he sat down on Ethan's couch. "I need a favour."

"A favour?" repeated Ethan. "From _me_?"

"I didn't have much choice in the matter. I was in a hurry. So, will you do a favour for me?"

Ethan smiled. "You think I'm just going a favour, for _you_, like that. You're the reason why I'm in the sodden B&B in the first place! Why should I help you? Give me one reason!"

Suddenly, without warning, Giles sprang from the couch and pinned Ethan forcefully against the wall. One arm pressing down hard on Ethan's neck, and the other arm against Ethan's stomach. "I'll give you a bloody good reason. You do this favour for me, I don't kill you. How's that?"

"F-fine…" Ethan croaked. He was no longer smiling.

Giles loosened his grip. "Good. That's settled then."

"Yes…" replied Ethan while clutching his throat. " It's got to be better than you kicking the crap out of me anyway…"

"There's still time."

SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA

"Wow! You said it was big, but you didn't say _huge_!"

"We're actually still working on it but-"

"Riley, It's amazing!" Buffy didn't fell like any other words could describe it. 'The initiative', as Riley had called it, was hidden underneath U.C. Sunnydale and around her Buffy could see no fewer than a hundred people. Some were military, and Buffy guessed the ones in white coats were scientists. The government, as it seemed, were not as oblivious to vampires and demons as Buffy had always thought.

Riley had soon finished leading Buffy down the staircase and they were now approaching, what seemed like to Buffy, a big pit.

"This is how we get most of out information," Riley said as he pointed down into the large pit. "Each new species of HST we find is examined, and also tested on. This way, we know how to fight them next time."

Bewildered, Buffy stared down into the pit. '_So this the where Spike got his chip_,' she thought. As Riley had said, the demons were being tested on and examined…and for the first time ever, Buffy felt sorry for them. "Wow, and there I was reading books on how to kill them… while you cut them up into little pieces to find out."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Buffy turned away. "Oh… um… nothing. It's just that, well all the scientific stuff in kind of new. I mean I've fought demons for years now… and Giles is still afraid of a computer."

"Giles?"

"Oh, right, sorry. He's my watcher." She turned back to Riley and noticed his blank expression. "A watcher is kind of a mentor to the slayer."

"He trains you?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied, "if you want to be all military about it."

"Buffy, what's wrong?…Have I said something?…done something?"

"What?…oh…well, this is all pretty new to me. See, when I slay vampires, it's pretty much stake-heart-dust. Simple and easy to remember… while you have this huge organisation thingy…. Riley, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Riley put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her close. " I know what I'm doing. I promise you… Do you trust me?"

Buffy's eyes met his and she felt her lips nearing his. "I trust you," she replied. Their lips touched and for a brief moment she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. While she was close to Riley she felt safe.

After a few moments, Riley pulled his lips away. "So, how strong is a slayer then?"

"Strong enough." She replied.

"Show me," he whispered into her ear.

"You sure? I might hurt you."

"Show me," he repeated. "Don't hold back"

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly took back her fist. Then, suddenly it flew forward, catching Riley hard in the stomach and sending him flying back into the blank wall at the far end.

"Whoops"

LONDON, ENGLAND

The night had matured more than Giles would have liked when he exited the B&B Ethan was staying in. Convincing Ethan to do his favour had probably taken up sometime, but still, he'd done it now. His main focus at the moment was getting back to Sunnydale.

He wondered how soon he'd be able to get a flight. Tonight would be best but he doubted he'd get a flight that soon. He looked at his watch: 9.50 p.m. Maybe if he hurried he could still get an evening flight. He'd need a Taxi though, and with that thought, he set off down the street.

A gunshot was fired in the darkness. The sniper watched from the roof as his target fell to his knees as the bullet buried itself into the target's stomach. Frowning at his accuracy, he began to look for another bullet.

Giles cried out, then looked down. The lower half of his shirt was already soaked in blood. His blood. He tried to work out how much he'd already lost and by the look of his own shirt, he'd lost lots. In desperation he put his hand on top of the wound in an effort to try and stop the bleeding…but he knew it was useless. A sniper doesn't leave you have dead…he always finishes the job.

The pain was becoming unbearable now. Breathing was also becoming an issue. Around him he could sense the sniper loading his gun for the final shot. The shot that would hit his head.

Giles looked up to the sky. There were no stars out, but at least it had stopped raining. He wondered if that was a bright side to his current situation. Cursing himself for thinking about the weather in what he was sure was his last few moments of life, he closed his eyes. Taking deep breaths in and out, he waited for the trigger to be pulled.

To be continued...

A/N- my story is slighly AU...(just incase you're wondering why Riley is incharge of the initiative)

feed back is always welcome!


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